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Monday Musings

Happy Monday to you all! I find it interesting that even in retirement Mondays still feel a bit different from the rest of the week. Firstly, we often come into them exhausted from having packed as many things to do into our weekends as possible. And secondly, they feel exciting in that they herald the start of a brand new week that is full of possibilities. So unlike in my working years, I now much enjoy Mondays!

And to kick it off, here are some random musings that have been running through my head this past week:

1) I much, much, much enjoy the very wise and sage blogs I read on a regular basis, primarily about life in retirement. Included among these would be A Satisfying Retirement, Sizzling Toward Sixty And Beyond, and Smart Living 365. All are chock full of interesting articles relevant to living a vibrant, robust life in the retirement chapter of our lives.

2) This is my least favorite weekend of the year in that we, blah, lose an hour of precious time a la Daylight Savings time. However, waking up on Sunday and coming out into the kitchen to find not just a hot cup of coffee waiting, but this sweet note, was the best way ever to move into it.

3) I finally got started on the birth record needlepoint project I'm making for our soon-to-be-here newest granddaughter after a bit of procrastination. The getting started is my least favorite part in that it involves lots and lots of counting. And then more counting. And then some making-sure counting. But, I finally did so (even though I think my eyes crossed a bit in the process), and I'm now well on my way.

Still missing are the detail elements like eyes and outlining. It will really 'pop' once those are added as the last step.

4) I biked over 90 miles last week, feeling particularly strong after my second long ride of the week, a 40 miler to and around both Newport and Huntington Beach. This week we're doing a 50 mile training ride, and I'm really looking forward to it in that we'll be pedaling up the coast all the way to Sunset Beach and back, with a stop in Huntington Beach for lunch on what looks to be a rain-free day in an otherwise rainy week.

It's hard for me to express how much joy I experience while biking. Not only does it return me to that that carefree feeling I remember experiencing in my childhood when out and about on my bike or roller skates, it creates this enormous bubble of exhilaration that just goes on and on and on. Plus, the area where I now live is so replete with biking paths and biking trails, only a mile or so of each of our long training rides has been on public streets.

We're enjoying biking here in S. County so much, in fact, that we've decided if we keep it up throughout the remainder of the year, we're going to upgrade our current aluminum Trek bikes for entry level carbon fiber bikes. Our Trek bikes were purchased over 14 years ago for roughly $600 each, and we've ridden literally thousands of miles on them, so they've served us very, very well. But I have to admit we're both pretty excited about the idea of jumping up to uber light racing bikes, even if we'll be doing so at lowest entry price point possible. The pragmatic side of me thinks that if our low end Trek bikes served us so well for so long, we'll get massive enjoyment from any upgrade we might decide to make, so there's no reason to go crazy when we make the leap. Because, trust me, one can go completely crazy and spend upwards of thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. And that's per bike!

Taking the Newport ferry across the bay over to Balboa Island during a recent ride.

5. I got my glitz on this weekend in order to attend a wine event featuring the owners of Pear Valley Vineyards in Paso Robles. As much time as I seem to spend in workout clothes, not to mention helmet hair(!), I do enjoy getting out of them and into something a little bit prettier when I can.

We had a wonderful time at the event, with lots and lots of laughter happening in between each of the wine tastings. We ended up buying a half case of wine; two roses, two tempranillos and two cabernet sauvignons, and are much looking forward to their being delivered in the next week or two.

6. While we are not traveling in March or April in order to allow time for our backyard project to get done, we have lots of people visiting us here, and we are excited to have them begin to arrive next week, in order to show them our new 'hood. Each time we do so, we find ourselves falling in love with our new area all over again!

7. And speaking of traveling, we will be kicking off a series of trips starting in May and I think I'm finally ready to leave our new abode and get back to exploring our wonderful world a bit. We have a 10 day trip back East scheduled for early May, during which we'll not only visit our darling granddaughter, but also spend a few days in the historic Yorktown/Jamestown/Williamsburg area. And from that point forward, we'll be traveling pretty much non-stop, with short two to three week returns back here to our home in between, all the way up through the end of the year. Excited!

Comments

I still revel in not having to punch the clock (for the most part). I hosted a house concert last night; it was >1AM before I turned in. It's so luxurious to indulge in down time after a late night or a busy week. Is it time to stop the time change? There was a political debate in this province and so far it's staying. I like to change the clocks before I go to bed; doing it in the morning leaves me discombobulated all day. One good thing about the time springing forward is that it heralds spring as does the warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours. Another sign of spring - my snowbird friends are straggling home from AZ. I have a circle of friends who are practitioners in various modalities. One of them informed me of sound therapy for vertigo and energy channels. I have experienced positive benefits after only 3 days. Things to look forward to this week: card night with friends; dinner with my young cousin; a girls' trip to the city for a concert; mild spring temperatures to enjoy while outside. You and Mike look to upgrade your bikes and I just think about upgrading my walking shoes. I am on the lookout for a kayak. A friend and I are planning a road trip into neighboring Saskatchewan. The planning and anticipation is part of the fun of a vacation. Enjoy your week.

Great news about your vertigo improvement, I hope it continues! Your week past and week upcoming are sounding wonderful, diverse and very interesting. And happy to hear signs of spring are headed your way as well!

And I am much impressed you were up until 1AM last night. Those days are now very few, and definitely far apart. Now getting up at 1AM after an early turn in? That I can do!

Great activities for you last week! We had fun too although much more low key. Our OLLI classes end this week and there are lots of appointments to keep plus getting in some exercise so it is feeling more like a work week already to me.

Hello Tamara and thank you for the shout out of my blog. It was an unexpected surprise and I so pleased you enjoy reading it. As a blogger you would understand that feedback is so important. I love your blog and each of us has our own take on life in retirement and life in general really. You have so many wonderful and exciting things planned for the year and I will enjoy reading about your adventures. It is 10 weeks until our grandbaby is born and I believe you are about the same time? Enjoy your week!Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond

Hi Sue, I much appreciate the work that I know goes into a well-thought out blog post that has broad appeal, so trust me - the shout out is well earned!

We are approximately 12 weeks from meeting our newest little granddaughter, so just a couple of weeks behind you it would appear. We are so excited to meet her, and will be flying back in early July to do so, as well as give Mama and Papa a hand in keeping her big sister occupied, and the household running. So thankful to be retired in order to do these type of things whenever and for as long as needed!!!

Thank you again Tamara for your kind words about my blog. It is so exciting for you to be going to visit your new grandbaby and spend some time with the family. Having flexibility with our time is certainly a positive about retirement isn't it? Have a wonderful week and thanks for sharing at #MLSTL. x

Hi Amy! You know what? Doing 90 miles in one week impressed me too, in that I started at 25 just a few weeks ago! But that's what training is all about, truly. If you set a schedule and stick to it, the effort of doing so really does pay off. The trick is to do something you actually like, though, so that it doesn't feel like work! ☺

Hi Victoria, I looove those cute little beach cruiser bikes, too, particularly if they are blinged out. They are all over the coastal bike paths here, and if we didn't live on a hill, making the trip back from the beach a whole lot harder than the downhill coast to get there(!), I'd probably have one!

You are certainly filling your retirement with a variety of interesting things. I'm very impressed with all your bike riding and the idea of upgrading certainly makes a lot of sense. That cross stitich is gorgeous too and I hope you include a picture of the finished product on one of your future posts - and congrats on the new grandbaby coming soon. Thanks for linking up with us at #MLSTL and I've shared this on my SM xx

I think my life runs a lot more smoothly when I have something to train toward - a running race, a backpacking trip, a walking vacation, or in this case, a biking event. It gives structure to my week which I very much appreciate. The bottom line is that I don't enjoy going to the gym, so the more I can do outdoors the better. Living here in temperate, coastal S. California allows the luxury of being outdoors almost 365 days of the year.

Increasingly as we age our motto is 'Use it or lose it!'

And thanks to you and Sue for starting this wonderful link up for those of us on the far side of 50!

I love bike riding and ride a very old cruiser around town here.. (it's very heavy!) I am in great need of a better bike! I am wondering if I can rent a nice light bike and try it out-- your blog today makes me want to expand our biking adventures.. and a lighter more comfy bike would be great..will be looking into it! That sense of childhood exhilaration you get n=on a bike, as you mention, is a feeling I love!

Hi Madeline, you can definitely rent all types of bikes. Just lookup 'bike rentals' and I'm sure all types of bikes will display.

It's such a fun way to spend a day, particularly if you break it up with a lunch stop. And there are lots of biking groups of all types and interests via MeetUp.com should you be interested in expanding your rides to include other people.

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